NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker has won a second six-year term.

The former Chattanooga mayor easily defeated Democrat Mark Clayton, a part-time floor installer who was disavowed by the state party after the primary for his anti-gay views.

In early returns, Corker had Corker had 29,666 votes, or 78 percent, compared with Clayton's 6,653 votes, or 16 percent. Seven other candidates split the rest of the vote.

This year's election was a far cry from Corker's first successful bid for the Senate in 2006, when he defeated Democrat Harold Ford Jr. by fewer than 3 percentage points in what was one of the country's most closely-fought elections.